The night rock and roll first grabbed Stan Urban wasn’t on a stage; it was in a cinema, watching Little Richard tear through Long Tall Sally. From that moment, a Dundee kid with two fingers on an old family piano set off on a six-decade run that takes us from church halls and converted radios to Chuck Berry’s stage, Led Zeppelin’s cocktail tab, and a viral train-station jam that made thousands miss their trains.

We sit with Stan to unpack the craft behind the chaos. He strips pianos to the frame, drops a podium mic inside, and turns boots and pedals into percussion. His left hand flips the groove—pink donk instead of donk pink—while his right hand leans ahead, stretching time until the room starts to shake. Along the way are stories that anchor an era: Jerry Lee Lewis returning his Yamaha CP with snapped strings, James Brown’s brisk handshake, and Robert Plant climbing stairs to sing Summertime Blues in a tiny Ibiza flat. Hamburg’s Star-Club brings long nights and hard lessons while Britain goes polite; East German television offers Saturday-night spectacle and the odd secret door; Denmark becomes home when touring turns into belonging.

This is a love letter to live music and the people who keep it honest. We talk writing rock and roll that isn’t pastiche, why “perfect” timing can drain feel, and how a pianist becomes a one-man rhythm section. There’s joy, grit, and plenty of laughter: Bahrain New Year’s Eve mayhem, a cannabis festival that forgot the piano, and the small, lonely minute before midnight when fireworks bloom outside and the crowd waits inside. If you care about rock and roll piano, Little Richard’s spark, Chuck Berry’s engine, Led Zeppelin lore, and the craft that makes a room move, you’ll feel right at home here.

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It's Only Rock and Roll is a Phil Blizzard Radio Production - for your production email philblizzardmedia@gmail.com